Antique Sideboard

SECRETAIRE CABINET - GEORGE III PAINTED ARMCHAIRS - REGENCY ROSEWOOD ARMCHAIR - REGENCY GILTWOOD CONVEX MIRROR - BOWFRONTED SIDEBOARD

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SECRETAIRE CABINET,
with triangular pediment above a pair of glazed doors,
the lower part with secretaire drawer above three
graduated long drawers, on splayed feet, 7ft. 5in. high by
2ft. 11′hin. wide (223cm. by 90cm.) secretaire ehest circa
1800, cabinet late 19th Century.

A GEORGE III GILTWOOD LOOKING GLASS, the
rectangular mirror plate in a bead and leaf-carved frame
with carved patera corners below a glass painting of
classical figures, 3ft. 9in. high by lft. 11′Ain. wide (lt5cm.
by 60cm.) circa 1800.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY BEDSIDE COMMODE, the
bow front with a pair of cupboard doors enclosing a well
on square tapering legs, inlaid with boxwood stringing,
2ft. 2in. high by lft. 10′hin. wide (66cm. by 57cm.)
circa 1790.

A LATE GEORGE III BOWFRONTED SIDEBOARD,
with a brass curtain rail, the frieze drawer flanked
by a pair of deep drawers with a drawer in the recessed apron, on
square tapering legs ending in spade feet, 3ft. high by 5ft. 1 ‘hin. wide (91cm. by 156cm.) circa 1800.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY CORNER WASHSTAND,
the curved top with a serpentine frieze above a platform
containing a drawer on downeurved sabre legs joined by
a T-shaped stretcher and inlaid with boxwood stringing,
2ft. 7′hin. high by 2ft. 4in. wide (80cm. by 71cm.) circa
1800.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY BREAKFRONT SIDEBOARD,
the superstructure with a pair of sliding doors with a
frieze drawer flanked by two deep drawers panelled to
resemble short drawers on square tapering legs ending
in spade feet, the whole inlaid with boxwood stringing,
3ft. 8in. high by 6ft. 5in. wide (112cm. by 195cm )
circa 1800, possibly Scottish.

A SET OF FIVE GEORGE III MAHOGANY DINING
CHAIRS, each rectangular toprail with an oval reeded
panel within reeded uprights and a roundel and reeded
crossbar, the stuffed seats on reeded sabre legs, circa
1805, one leg replaced.

A PAIR OF LATE GEORGE III PAINTED ARMCHAIRS,
the arched backs with waisted dowelled splats, dowelled
arms, turned supports, caned seats and turned legs and
stretchers, circa 1810.

A REGENCY JAPANNED WINDOW BENCH, with a
caned seat and each canted end with a toprail painted
Greek key above curule splat, on four splayed front legs
joined by turned stretchers, 5ft. Win. wide (178cm.) circa
1805.

A SET OF FOUR REGENCY EBONISED CHAIRS
ncluding a pair of Armchairs, the fluted frames
with toprails with a brass handle flanked by bail  with scroll handles, padded seats and sabre legs, circa 1805.

A PAIR OF LATE GEORGE III MAHOGANY LlBRARY
BOOKCASES, each with a plain cornice above a pair of
doors with ogee bars enclosing adjustable shelves and
divided and flanked by reeded panels, the projecting
lower parts each with one long drawer, one fitted with a
secretaire drawer flanked by two short drawers above
three panelled cupboard doors, the other with a deep
drawer flanked by two deep drawers and with three
cupboards, 9ft. high by 5ft. lOin. wide (274cm. by 178cm.)
circa 1805.

A SET OF EIGHT LATE REGENCY DINING CHAIRS,
including a pair of Armchairs, the curved scrolling
toprails above crossbars pierced with C-scrolls and
anthemions, the armchairs with scrolling reeded
supports on stuffed seats and moulded sabre legs, circa
1820.

A PAIR OF REGENCY SIMULATED ROSEWOOD CHILD’S
CHAIRS, with curving toprails and twisted dowelled
splats on turned supports with stuffed seats and turned
legs and stretchers, circa 1815.

A REGENCY FLAME-FIGURED MAHOGANY KNEEHOLE
SIDEBOARD, with a fitted frieze drawer above a drawer
flanked by a pair of cupboard doors above a pair of deep
drawers in the pedestals, on gadrooned bun feet, the
the whole inlaid with ebony stringing, 3ft. high by 3ft.
lO’/tin. wide (91cm. by 118cm.) circa 1810.

A SET OF FIVE REGENCY MAHOGANY CHAIRS, each
reeded frame with curved toprail and lyre splat, with
bowed drop-in seat and sabre front legs, circa 1810, one
leg replaced.

A SET OF EIGHT LATE REGENCY DlNING CHAIRS,
including a pair of Armchairs, the curved scrolling
toprails above crossbars pierced with C-scrolls and
anthemions, the armchairs with scrolling reeded
supports on stuffed seats and moulded sabre legs, circa
1820.

AN UNUSUAL REGENCY ROSEWOOD ARMCHAIR, the
stuffed violin-shaped back with padded arms and circular
seat covered in nailed green leather with turned arm
Supports and sabre legs, circa 1810.

A RARE SCOTTISH MAHOGANY CLERK’S SECRETAIRE CABINET, the
panelled front with a fitted secretaire drawer usable at
standing height above a pair of doors enclosing an arrangement of twelve short and two long drawers, the back with a similar
panel to the secretaire above another pair of doors enclosing a
shallow recess for large folios, on short turned legs with castors, 4ft. lOin. high by 3ft. wide (147cm. by 92cm.)
circa 1820, seven of the interior small drawers missing.

A GEORGE IV MAHOGANY CRADLE, the scrolling
sides with ring-turned finials at the corners joined by
nng-turned stretcher handles on turned legs and castors,
2ft. 5′/2tn. long (75cm.) circa 1825.

A REGENCY GILTWOOD CONVEX MIRROR, the
moulded frame flanked by a pair of leaf-carved candle-
branches with drop-hung drip-pans, the cresting formed
of a spread-eagle holding a chain and ball in its beak,
supported by acanthus leaves, 3ft. 4V2tn. high by 3ft. 8l/2in.
wide (103cm. by 113cm.) circa 1810.

Antique 18th Century Queen Anne Sideboards
18th Century French forms, and the French Rococo ornamental vocabulary, were extremely influential throughout Europe, where sideboards and other pieces in the relaxed Louis XV manner were made well into the century in Spain, Portugal, Italy, North America and elsewhere.
The supple, undulating forms created by Daniel Marot, Jean Berain and the French Regence permeated England during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-14). Characterized by curvaceous lines and ornamental restraint, Queen Anne style sideboards asserted the first truly English style. As a thriving national economy encouraged more building on the part of landed gentry and middle-class merchants, increased demand for interior furnishings was met by unprecedented standards of skill among London cabinetmakers.
Balanced curves and straight lines gave chairs cabriole legs, vase-shaped splats, horse-shoe shaped seats and undulating backs which followed the sitter’s profile. Walnut, and later mahogany, was applied in highly figured veneers to cabinets and tables, or sparingly carved with shells, masks or foliage on the crests, knees and rails of chairs. ‘Seaweed’ marquetry, japanning on red ground, and judicious touches of gilt coated the flat surfaces of tables, chests-of-drawers, day-beds and settees. Feet were carved as hoofs, hairy paws, trifids and claw-and-ball.
Queen Anne sideboards with arched or mirrored panels were crowned by swan-neck or double-arched pediments, often with Chippendale’s version of a French chair.
ornamental finials. Of Netherlandish origin, these curving pediments were to find extreme expression later in the century on Dutch Rococo case pieces, when curves alternated with horizontal plinths on which porcelain rarities were displayed.
The furniture and sideboards in particular of William Kent (1689-1748) promulgated a heavy, Baroque style based on Italian architectural sources, and especially on the Renaissance work of Vicente architect Andrea Palladio. However, the softer forms of the Queen Anne style persisted, and various elements characteristic of it appeared on sideboards well into the century.
In the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain Queen Anne characteristics such as cabriole legs, shell motifs, claw-and-ball feet, and vase-shaped chair splats were transplanted into local styles.
The Queen Anne style was adopted in colonial America in the early 1730s, when flourishing trade in the major mercantile centres of Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Newport and Charleston encouraged a desire for large, comfortable and fashionable mansions. Classical architectural details appeared on buildings from the Carolinas to New Hampshire. Houses, such as Westover in Virginia, reflected elements of the English Palladian style, which reached the colonies through such publications as W. Salmon’s Palladio Londinensis published in 1734, and James Gibbs’s Book of Architecture of 1728.
Columns and pilasters, swan-neck pediments, and finials filtered on to highboys, long-case clocks, and even the fragile frames of pier-glasses. The favoured woods of walnut, maple, cherry and pine, and increasingly mahogany, were sparsely highlighted with carved shells or foliage, and occasionally offset with inlay in such forms as stars, or with gilded shells on tables, highboys and lowboys. Slender cabriole legs, horseshoe-shaped seats, and feet carved as pads, trifids and claw-and-ball, imitated English fashions long after they had fallen from favour in England. Sideboards, fronted with doors with arched panels, contained tiers of drawers and pigeonholes. Along with Queen Anne Sideboards easy chairs, corner chairs, candlestands, piecrust tea tables on tripod legs and fire-screens, all became more popular.
Regional differences in sideboards-making were sharpened as craftsmanship developed in each area, and immigrant tastes and traditions expressed themselves. Chair splats were shaped with distinguishing silhouettes, those from Dutch-settled New York broader than those from English-settled Massachusetts. The spaces between splat and stiles on Philadelphia chairs resembled birds with bold, inward-curving elongated beaks; the curves of Philadelphia Queen Anne style seats tended to inflect more than seats found on chairs made elsewhere. New York clawand-ball feet were square in form, while those from Massachusetts characteristically featured raking claws. The cabriole legs of many southern pieces were almost straight. Stretchers generally disappeared during this period, although they tended to persist on Massachusetts pieces, typical of sideboards forms produced there.